Columbia residents suggest alley names
The City Council voted to table the resolution until the Nov. 5 meeting.
Published Oct. 16, 2007
At the Columbia City Council meeting on Monday night, several residents had suggestions for the names of the five east-west alleys in the downtown area.
The proposed names in the resolution are McQuitty Alley, Nowell Alley, Sorin Alley, Barth Alley and Lancaster Alley.
Some residents gave their opinions on why the first alley, which is south of Broadway, should be named Sorin Alley, in remembrance of Ben Sorin.
Among those who gave an opinion included his daughter, Deb Carter, and his wife, Lucy Sorin.
"The name Sorin Alley is in recognition of my late husband, Ben and his brother, Max," Sorin said. "They were the owners of Columbia Auto Parts for 65 years. Columbia Auto Parts was located at 504 East Broadway. The alley proposed to be Sorin Alley runs behind the building where Columbia Auto Parts was located."
Sorin said she felt her husband contributed more than enough to the history of Columbia to warrant the alley being named in his honor.
Carter said her father helped outline what Columbia business is like today.
"My father was one of those early businessmen who provided a foundation of service and excellence over the years that is the hallmark of Columbia today," she said.
Carter also added that people viewed her father in many different, positive ways.
"I remember him as the wonderful gentleman who gave pennies to his customers' children to use in the gumball machine," Carter said. "Many others will remember him as the downtown leader who worked along with various civic organizations to help Columbia grow."
Columbia citizen Jenny Chicone proposed that the alley designated as Sorin Alley be named after her great-great-great-grandfather.
"I would like to propose the name Prewitt Passage for the first alley south of Broadway in honor of my great-great-great-grandfather, Fredrick Moss Prewitt," she said.
Chicone made it clear that she meant passage and not alley.
"I would like to encourage the use of the word 'passage' because it has a much nicer ring than 'alley," she said.
Chicone went on to add Prewitt's contributions to the city.
"In addition to providing goods for his local customers, he provided banking services out of his store," she said. "He and his son-in-law, James Parker, purchased the building to the left of his store and opened Columbia's first bank, Prewitt and Parker Private Bank."
Kelly Veach, an agent at Shelter Insurance Companies on Hitt Street, said he believed the names should be determined based on where they are located.
"As a business owner, I am interested in the economic impact that the name has," he said. "I would like to have a name that describes where I'm at."
Veach also added that a geographical name would help the public.
"I think a geographical name will tell the public the general area of where the business they are trying to reach is located," Veach said.
After the public hearing, City Manager Bill Watkins said there are problems with the alleys and a decision on the names should wait until those problems are figured out.
"Well, I certainly concur that some alleys are better than others," Watkins said. "There are some that are very much problematic and some that are much less. We still come back to the question of how you get service delivery vehicles through. Most stores need to have deliveries. As you have a truck in the alley, it will make it difficult to get through."
Watkins said he does not doubt the problems can be fixed, but he questions the solutions.
"In time we can get them taken care of," he said. "But my question is, 'Is this the best use of our resources?'"
Sixth Ward councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said she believed developing these alleys is a good start for improving downtown.
"I think this is a step in the right direction," she said. "We have a very small, limited downtown area, so there are some challenges. I think there is a lot of potential here."
Fifth Ward councilwoman Laura Nauser said she believed the resolution should be tabled and the names should be talked about before being decided.
"It seems to me that we're working at this backwards," Nauser said. "We should have the plan in place of what we're going to do with the alleys first, and the names should be decided afterwards."
The City Council voted unanimously to table the resolution until the Nov. 5 meeting.